


Life Could Be Simple

by UkiTheMaid



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Forests, Hunting, Wildlife
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-06
Updated: 2012-08-06
Packaged: 2017-11-11 14:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/479324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UkiTheMaid/pseuds/UkiTheMaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade is an unusual hunter, and to get the respect of her fellow huntsman, she goes after a legendary creature to prove them her worth. Although, a turn of events gives her hunt a completely different outcome. Written for a giveaway down at tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life Could Be Simple

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't much to say here, except that this is an AU and... Yeah, that's pretty much it.
> 
> I went a little bit overboard with this thing though, because *lol*, 5,000 words, but any less than that and I wouldn't be able to include everything I wanted.
> 
> Without further ado, let's begin!

Jade was a self-righteous hunter. She took great pride on keeping her grandfather’s tradition alive, and had collected a decent amount of trophies in her considerably short time as a professional huntswoman.

She did, however, have a few rules she followed when it came to her hunts. There was a certain matter of care to her method which was somewhat lacking from her grandfather’s style. Her hunting style was also a bit… unusual.

For one thing, she was known in the hunters circle as a ‘non-lethal’ huntress. Instead of an elephant gun, which was her grandfather’s favorite, she would use a tranquilizer gun. Instead of trophies that revolved around fur, tusks, stuffed animals and heads hung on the wall, hers were a lot less harmful, and involved a few fathers from exotic birds, tufts of hair from manes and manes, clipped nails from savage felines…

The hunting society would look down on her and her ways, not really approving of them. Why, hunting was a sport which involved both the thrill of the chase and, usually, a bloody end. Obviously she was missing the second part.

She couldn’t actually make herself maim or hurt any sort of animal, though. She wanted to keep her grandpa’s spirit alive, yes, but at the same time she didn’t quite agree with him and what he did; she was hoping she could change the behavior of all huntsmen as a whole, but old habits did die hard. No pun intended.

Although, the other hunters seemed willing to take a second look at her ways if she presented them some manner of impressive discovery. Something so breathtakingly incredible, they could do nothing but agree with her ways.

_If they want something amazing, they sure as hell will get one!_

With those thoughts in mind, Jade went on a search for creatures of legend. Things that were rarely, if ever, seen by human’s eyes. During her research- while trying to escape from the cliche of Sasquatches and the like- she found something most definitely worth of her time; something that would make others see her through better eyes.

After some study as to where this ‘beast’ could be found, she packed her bags, her faithful rifle, and boarded the next plane to her destination: an inhospitable deep jungle with her best friend and hunting partner; her loyal dog Becquerel, right by her side. She lost count of how many times he aided her in her hunts.

She refused to stay in a hotel during that particular hunt. She needed to be right in the heart of the jungle if she ever wanted to even have a small chance at spotting the elusive creature she was hunting. From what she read, this particular beast was a quite smart and certainly wouldn’t be caught without a fight. So, she set up a small campsite at a clearing, and there she stood, promising to herself she would only leave when done with her mission.

The plan was simple: spot her hunt, get a hold of it, put it in a cage, bring it back home to show those bastards at the hunting society, and then place the poor creature back into its habitat. It wasn’t rocket science, really. She hated having to remove a creature from its rightful place, but if that was the proof those stupid hunters needed to see her worth, she was going to do it.

One, two, three days passed, and nothing of interest happened. Jade would search around the forest, eyes and ears peeled for everything, and with Bec right by her side, his snout high in the air as he also did his best to spot anything unusual. They did find some magnificent animals they never really saw before, but as majestic and unusual as they were, they weren’t Jade’s objective.

She was aiming for something far bigger than some unusual colored lizard or a bird with shiny feathers.

The fourth day came by, and after a whole day walking around and finding nothing, Jade was starting to think maybe she choose a far too obscure creature to look for. It wasn’t like her to lose heart so soon, but the fact that she couldn’t find even a small evidence of this creature’s existence was starting to make her doubt the veracity of the papers and articles she read.

_Maybe I should have chosen the Sasquatch after all…_ Jade thought to herself as she walked back to her small tent, still paying close attention to her surroundings, but not with the same enthusiasm she had when the day started. The sun was starting to set and even though the orange light coming from it was bathing the forest with a quite beautiful and almost ethereal glow, Jade was barely paying attention to it.

Suddenly, Bec came to a halt, head high as he scanned the area around them.

“Hm? What is it boy?” Jade whispered, as she approached him and tried to see if she could spot anything among the trees, but could see nothing.

Then, there was the sound of crunching leaves not too far, and Jade crouched to hide among the vegetation, eyes squinting as her ears perked up to that sound. It could be just some regular animal walking around, but she couldn’t risk it.

Spotting a shade moving through the trees not too far, Jade’s eyes went wide almost instantly. The silhouette right in front of her way was far too unusual to be of any common animal. It looked more ‘human’ than anything, but it still had a sort of animalistic vibe to it.

_Could this be it?_ She thought to herself, carefully moving forward, trying not to make a sound. Bec followed her accordingly, crawling as close to the ground as he could.

Jade’s heart was thumping inside her chest as she got closer and closer to the shadow. It didn’t seem to have noticed her yet, and she was actually surprised by the fact. Considering that this exact same creature was able to elude her for almost 4 days straight, it was allowing her to get closer far too easily.

It was almost fishy.

The scarce light that was filling the forest didn’t make it any easier for Jade to see just what her prey looked like, and that bothered her. She wanted to give it a good look, because the papers she read sure didn’t tell her much about its looks.

Jade carefully raised her rifle, aiming at the shadow not too far. She would have plenty of time to study its looks when she got it properly tranquilized. Aiming at what she supposed it was the creature’s head, Jade shiftily pulled the trigger.

She didn’t expect what followed though.

Just like that, the shade in front of her was gone, and the dart from her gun never connected with the target. With a jolt, she got up, looking around frantically, trying to spot her prey once again. Her heart was now beating as fast as ever, and she couldn’t deny her adrenaline was at its peak.

Completely out of the blue, Bec sprinted deeper into the forest, and Jade followed him as closely as possible, rifle at the ready as she could hear the creature they were hunting running not too far ahead of them.

She couldn’t fight the smile that formed on her lips as she darted through the trees. It had been a while since she got so excited about a hunt, and regular animals almost didn’t offer such a level of challenge and thrill. It was so refreshing, she was almost completely forgetting about her initial plan, to the point that, even if she wasn’t able to capture it, she would be happy about being able to even spot it and run after it for a while.

To her, that was what hunting was all about.

Suddenly, as unexpectedly as he started, Bec stopped running, snout in the air trying to track down their prey’s smell.

“You lost it boy?” Jade said in a whisper, clutching to her rifle. She didn’t know if the creature she was hunting was prone to attacking or not, so she had to stay alert and on her toes.

Still, her alertness didn’t prepare her for what came next.

A loud sound similar to that of an angry cat echoed behind her, and before she could turn to react, the creature had pinned her to the forest ground, scratching and biting at her with determination, yellow eyes glowing in anger.

Jade wrestled with the creature with Bec’s aid as he bit and lashed at it, and they tossed and turned on the forest’s ground for long minutes, with Jade trying to find an opening to shoot at the creature attacking her, but never really succeeding.

Finally, Bec was able to sink his teeth at the creature’s ankle, and it let out a pained growl. Jade seized the opportunity to turn the tables, launching herself at the creature and pinning it to the ground, rifle aimed straight at its chest, gasping for air as she stared down at it, with Bec right at her side, growling at it.

At that point, Jade was at last able to take a better look at what was attacking her, even with the faint light around them. It had facial features similar to those of a human, but its fangs were clearly visible, and its eyes had pupils similar to those of a cat, and its hair was a mess of unkempt black strands. Upon closer inspection, it didn’t really have claws, but instead it wore gloves with long, sharp ones. As for clothes, just taking a quick glance at them Jade could already tell they were all clearly made from other animal’s skins.

The most intriguing aspect of the creature under her was its grey skin and small horns. Jade had never seen anything like that in her entire life, and needless to say she was surprised and even a bit shocked.

“So… you are the creature I read about…” She could barely believe her own eyes.

“Are you… going to kill me?” The creature said, and Jade almost jumped back when it did so. She had no idea such a creature could speak. Sure it was a bit slow, but it was quite clear and easy to understand, and the voice sounded particularly feminine.

“Kill? No I… I would never do such a thing.” Jade almost shivered at the notion of killing such a unique specimen.

“You have a gun. Those are made fur killing.” It spoke again, barring its teeth at her.

_‘Fur’?_ Jade thought to herself briefly before speaking. “No, I don’t kill animals. I simply can’t.”

They both stayed still for a long time, just staring into each others eyes, none of them daring to move. The creature didn’t dare moving- didn’t know if Jade was bluffing or not about the gun, and Jade stayed still as well, far too mesmerized by all that to actually do something.

At last, Jade moved away from her prey, with her gun still aimed squarely at it's chest.

“I came here to find you.” She stated, trying to soften her expression despite the adrenaline running high in her veins.

“Find me? What fur?” The creature seemed a bit confused when it was ‘freed’, and it just limited itself to sit up straight.

“Yes. I’m a… different kind of hunter, and the other hunters I know challenged me to find some unusual creature to prove my worth. And I read about you and I got interested. I just didn’t imagine you were so… different.” Jade scanned the creature from head to toe, still not quite believing what she was seeing.

The creature looked deep into Jade’s eyes before speaking. “You seem really honest.”

“I’m being honest, and to prove it…” Jade lowered her gun. She was still prepared to raise it if needed, but she was having a feeling she wouldn’t have to do it.

With its eyes somewhat glistening, the creature got up on its feet again, approaching Jade carefully, her nostrils flaring as it sniffed at her. Jade didn’t even flinch from her place. If she wanted to get that creature’s trust, she couldn’t dare doing it.

“You don’t smell of fear.” That was unusual. All its previous encounters were permeated by panic.

“Of course not. I came here to hunt you, and to do that I can’t be scared of you.” Jade tried to sound as confident as possible, but not too much as to not come off as arrogant.

“… What’s your name?”

“Hm? My name’s Jade. Jade Harley. Do… you have a name?” She kind of doubted, but it was only polite to ask.

“You can call me Nepeta.” The unusual half cat-half girl creature smiled widely, her sharp teeth showing.

“It’s a… pleasure to meet you Nepeta. Oh, and this is my dog Bec. I’m sorry it bit you. It was only trying to protect me.” Jade smiled back, running a hand through her hair while trying to look more presentable. The fight from a while ago left her hair a mess of dirt and leaves.

“Oh, he’s just like Pounce then!” Nepeta said excitedly, clasping her hands together.

“Pounce?”

“Yes. She is, well,… I guess she’s what you humans call ‘mother’.” There was a small chuckle from Nepeta, which put Jade a whole more at ease.

“Oh, so one of the forest animals is your protector then? That’s so, so cool!” Jade was actually getting over-excited about all that. She would never believe such an exchange could occur between her and this ‘so called’ beast.

“Pounce is the best kitty in the world!” Nepeta said proudly, a hand over her chest.

“I have no doubt about it! But, please, let me take you back to my tent. I want to tend to the bite wound on your ankle. Is the least I can do for you.” Jade had an apologetic look on her face. “I mean, I had no idea you were able to talk, I certainly would have approached you far more differently if I knew that.”

“I’m a bit sorry fur attacking you too. I thought you were threatening the animals here, like some other people that came here befure you.” Nepeta’s expression changed from smiley to a bit pained, as she remembered unfortunate events which took place in the past. Jade was going to ask her about her change in expression, but stopped when Nepeta started talking again. “And don’t worry about the wound. I’ll be fine, really!”

“Are you sure?” Jade leaned, taking a closer look at the bite. Nepeta’s skin was punctured quite deeply and bleeding. And that was when Jade noticed her blood was that of a greenish color. Just when she thought there weren’t any other surprises.

“Pawsitive!” Nepeta smiled again, exhaling an air of confidence that Jade had never seen.

“Say I… I’m really curious about your way of life. I mean, you’ve been living here in this jungle for white some time, haven’t you?” Jade asked, as she petted Bec in the head.

“I’ve been living here for, well, many years. I can tell you all about it.” Nepeta was actually happy someone was willing to hear her, instead of hurting her. That was a completely new thing to her. “Hmm… But I guess Pounce is waiting fur me to get back. .. We can talk in my cave if you want!”

Jade was about to accept the invitation, when her more sensible side spoke. Why did she trust this wild creature so easily? Just because she spoke her language that didn’t mean she couldn’t attack her any minute.

“I think I’ll have to pass. I’m kind of exhausted you see.” Jade half-lied, trying not to be impolite. “We can meet tomorrow in the morning though, at this same spot.”

“OK so tomeowrrow it is!” And with that last line, Nepeta sprinted into the woods to God only knows where, with Jade watching her disappear.

Going back to the tent, Jade took care of her own scratches and bite marks. They weren’t as deep as the one on Nepeta’s leg, but they needed some serious disinfection. When she was finally done with it, she laid in her sleeping bag, but she couldn’t get too sleep. She was so excited that she, more or less, made friends with a manner or legendary creature, she couldn’t simply shut her eyes.

She tossed and turned inside her bag, wondering what tomorrow had in store for her. Was Nepeta going to meet her like she promised? Maybe it was some kind of trap? And just what she was anyway?

Endless questions floated inside Jade’s mind all night, and she barely got any sleep.

The next morning, when the sun started to rise, Jade watched the rays of sun enter the tent. Her facial expression translated all the lack of sleep from the night before, but she was also excited. If Nepeta wasn’t trying to ambush her or anything, and was genuinely seeking some kind of ‘connection’ with her, she would be more than happy to reciprocate. After all, Jade had always been fascinated by animals and the like, and being able to communicate with one so clearly like that was an astounding experience.

She got up, realizing it was pointless to stay lying around, and proceeded to have her somewhat scarce breakfast and feed Bec. When the both of them had eaten, they started walking into woods, with Jade trying her best to find the spot where she met with Nepeta the night before.

When they finally arrived, Nepeta was already there, who instantly beamed when she saw Jade.

“Ah, you really came!” She threw her arms up excitedly, the clawed gloves she was wearing before nowhere to be seen.

“Where are your weapons?” Jade asked before she could even think about it.

“Hm? Oh, you mean my claws? I don’t need them to talk to you.”

“Hm, I guess you are right.” It did seem rather pointless to be armed just for a conversation. Maybe Nepeta really just ‘wanted to be friends’ after all. “How’s the ankle by the way?”

“It’s purrfect, don’t worry! So, what do you want to know?” Nepeta asked, sitting on the ground.

Jade sat in front of the savage-girl, with Bec lying at her side. “You said you’ve been here for many years. How many years exactly?”

“Hmm… I don’t really know. I never really bothered counting!” Nepeta chuckled, as Jade looked at her with a slightly puzzled loop on her face.

“So, you don’t know how old you are… Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter out here.” Jade smiled warmly at that notion. It was strange to be in contact with someone who didn’t really felt the need to worry about something like the passing of the years. And coming to think of it, such a thing seemed rather pointless. “Either way, just how do you survive out here Nepeta?”

“It’s not really that hard for me. I mean, Pounce taught me everything she knows about hunting, and I have everything I need right here in the furest.” Nepeta leaned back and forth as she spoke, seeming quite excited about being able to share aspects of her life with someone else.

Jade kept listening to Nepeta talk about her life in the jungle, and how she knew every nook and cranny of it like the palm of her hand. She talked about her habitat in such an enthusiastic way, that Jade couldn’t stop smiling throughout the whole conversation. In a way, she envied the lifestyle Nepeta was describing to her.

Her life was so free from all those pointless, petty things people were usually so worked up about, and she seemed to live life at its full extent.

At some point, she wasn’t even saying anything, and just limited herself to listen to what her companion had to say.

On the other hand, Nepeta was elated to be able to talk someone for a change. As much as she enjoyed Pounce’s company and the life in the forest, she sometimes felt lonely, and the only humans to visit the forest were harmful ones. It was a breath of fresh air to meet one as nice as Jade.

Almost one hour later, Nepeta started to run out of things to say.

“Hmm… Hey Jade, do you want to walk around the furest with me?” She suggested, quickly getting up.

“I guess there’s no harm in that.” Jade nodded as she got up again, promptly followed by Bec. It came to a point where she thought it was pointless to be suspicious around the cat-girl. It was clear she meant no harm.

And deeper into the jungle they went, with Nepeta making sure to show Jade all her favorite spots, even if, for Jade, some of them were really similar between each other. She didn’t dare saying a word about it though. Nepeta was just so enthusiastic about it she couldn’t bring herself to say such a thing.

The day passed them by far too quickly, and before they noticed it, nighttime was approaching them, and Jade needed to go back to her tent to finally be able to catch some sleep.

“Nepeta, it has been wonderful spending the day with you, but I need to go back to my tent and sleep. I’m really, really tired.” This time, it wasn’t a lie. They had ran around the woods all day, and even though it was fun, Jade certainly wasn’t used to that much walking around, especially after such a terrible night’s sleep.

“Ah… I see…” Nepeta seemed clearly distressed by the fact, but quickly regained her cheerful demeanor. “We’ll meet again tomeowrrow, right?”

“Of course!” Jade was about to clasp her hands together, when Nepeta quickly grabbed them. That caught her by surprise, but she didn’t make a move to pull her hands back.

“That’s great! I’m going to show you my cave then! And then you can meet Pounce!”

“Alright, we’ll see each other tomorrow Nepeta!” Jade moved away when Nepeta released her hands, and walked back to the tent, glancing back to see the cat-girl standing there watching her leave.

The next day, Jade and Bec met Nepeta on the same spot from the other days, and the girl was greeted with an unexpected pounce. In any other occasion, Jade would protest against that, but when she looked up and saw the happy look on Nepeta’s face, she couldn’t really be mad at her.

They walked for a long while, until they found a really large cave.

“This is where I live.” Nepeta announced proudly, already going inside, gesturing for Jade to follow her, which she did a bit reluctantly.

“When they got inside, Jade couldn’t help but notice the multitude of drawings all over the walls. They all seemed to refer to Nepeta’s daily life, and were some kind of register of her hunts and other happenings of her life.

Nepeta called Pounce’s name, and in no time, a rather large white panther approached them. Jade had never seen a feline like that. She had seen countless black panthers in her life, but never a white one, and especially not one so large. It didn’t even make any sense for such a creature to be in that habitat in the first place.

“Pounce, this is the human Jade I was talking about. She came here to meet you.”

The large feline approached Jade, and she just looked at it, not sure about how it would react to her presence in the cave. Jade couldn’t push aside the feeling that she was trespassing, and the last thing she wanted was to make a giant white panther mad.

Although, the only thing the large cat did was to nuzzle its snout against her, letting out an affectionate purring sound.

“She likes you!” Nepeta said in an almost celebratory tone of voice, and Jade smiled, petting the panther on the head.

“I’m glad she does! She’s just so beautiful, don’t you think Bec?” Jade turned to her dog, and it carefully approached the other animal. They sniffed each other for a while, and in no time they were getting along as fine as their owners. Jade was surprised by that, because Bec was always a ‘loner’ and didn’t really get along with other species so easily.

The four of them spent the rest of the day in the cave, with Nepeta taking about her drawings and Jade paying close attention to everything, while Bec and Pounce alternated between playing together and napping.

Nepeta’s lifestyle was fascinating, not to mention that, the more Jade heard about it, the more she wanted to experience a life like that. It was probably very liberating to just be on your own just like her, without real rules or regulations, without having to prove anything to anyone. She was almost jealous of that life.

At some point, Pounce left the cave to hunt, and came back with some unlucky herbivorous in her jaws. Nepeta excitedly went to eat with her ‘mother’, and even Bec followed them, but Jade didn’t think she was prepared to eat the raw meat of a freshly killed animal.

After their ‘meal’, Jade told Nepeta she wanted to show her the tent where Bec and she were staying, and the cat-girl cheerfully agreed to that decision. Before they went though, Nepeta told Jade she should draw on one of the walls of her cave, and she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

For some reason, Jade felt very flattered about that, and using some weird, strange smelling paint – Jade was guessing it was made from plants and animal blood – she drew herself and Bec, while Nepeta did the same, drawing herself and Pounce right by the side of Jade’s drawing.

The trip to Jade’s tent was uneventful, but cheerful, and even Pounce agreed on following Nepeta there. She mostly did so to keep an eye on her protegee, because even though she got good vibes from Jade, she couldn’t be too careful.

At the campsite, jade started showing a whole bunch of the things she brought with her on the trip, and Nepeta was over-enthusiastic about everything, asking about every single object she laid eyes on. Jade was more than happy to explain about their uses and whatnot, and she felt really good whenever she saw that fascinated gleam on Nepeta’s eyes.

She was just like a child, discovering a whole new world, and it was so amazing to witness that.

The night came, and Jade insisted on Nepeta and Pounce staying with them, to which they agreed. Nepeta slept inside the tent, by Jade’s side, and she couldn’t remember when it was the last time she slept so peacefully.

The next morning, Jade woke up slowly, stretching her arms and feeling something close to her body. When she opened her eyes she saw that Nepeta was laying really close to her, and out of impulse, she ran her fingers on Nepeta’s hair, petting her in the head. Sure enough Nepeta’s hair was far from smooth, but it had a softness to it that was almost alluring to Jade.

She soon shook her head and stopped thinking about that.

When everyone was wide and awake, Nepeta grabbed Jade’s hand like she did just two days before, and looked deep into her eyes, beaming.

“Jade, I want to show you a place that’s really dear to me. Want to see it?” Nepeta’s question was chock-full of anxiety, and it was clear that ‘no’ was, yet again, not an option.

“I would love to!” Jade answered with as much enthusiasm as she could.

“Alright! Pounce, stay here and keep Jade’s things safe!” Nepta let go of Jade’s hands to go to her guardian, passing her arms around its neck, and the panther answered to it with a loud, mighty purr.

The walk to ‘Nepeta’s special place’ was a rather long one, but when they arrived, Jade instantly recognized that all their walking was worthy it.

Right in front of her eyes, was the most astonishing waterfall and forest clearing she had ever seen. The water was pristine, and the sun rays hitting the surface made it shimmer. The vegetation around the area was a really vivid tone of green, and there was the most colorful assortment of flowers all over.

That place looked like some sort of unearthly dream. Jade couldn’t believe her own eyes.

“Nepeta, this is so magnificent! I… don’t know what to say…”

“No one knows about this place except fur me.” Nepeta’s tone of voice was a proud one, and she walked to the water’s edge, turning to look at Jade. “I come here when I need a bath, or when I want to look at something purrtty.”

“Is sure is a sight to behold, my God…” Jade’s jaw was on the floor. She had traveled all over the world in her hunts, but she never saw a scenario like that.

Then, something struck her as odd.

“Wait, Nepeta, why are you sharing such an amazing and special place with me?”

“It’s beclaws you are also special Jade!” Without any warning, Nepeta pounced Jade, and they were quickly on the ground, with Jade laughing at the whole situation.

She just felt really happy. If only she could…

“I want you to stay here with me Jade.” Nepeta said, what snapped Jade out of her thoughts.

Before she could say anything, her lips were already taken by Nepeta’s. It wasn’t the most exciting kiss in the world. They just had their lips locked and nothing else, but Jade was pretty sure no one had ever kissed her with such sincerity.

Just as suddenly as it started, the kiss ended, with Nepeta backing away a little.

“I saw hunters do that with the people they loved.” She gave Jade a brief chuckle, smiling softly.

Jade had no answer to that. Her head was spinning. She honestly envied Nepeta’s way of life, and she wish she could just throw it all away and stay there forever. Those past three days were indescribable, and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t appreciate someone loving her simply for who she was, without looking for anything else in return.

Still, that wasn’t her place. As much as she would like to, there were things she needed to do amid civilization, and she couldn’t just abandon them all due to some animalistic instinct inside her heart.

“Nepeta, I would really love to stay here with you forever. You are wonderful, Pounce sure is the best kitty and this place is amazing, but… but this isn’t my place I… There are things I need to do back home…”

In almost a split second, Nepeta’s expression shifted from loving to disappointed.

“Oh, I understand…” Was her reply, as she got away from Jade, allowing the girl to get up.

“And… I actually extended my stay here for far too long. I’m sorry to tell you this Nepeta, I really am…” Jade was feeling awful about that. A part of her was screaming for her to stay and follow the call of nature, but her more sensible side was telling her it was a bad idea and acting impulsively like that was a mistake.

“No, it’s OK. Can you… purmise to visit me again one day?” Nepeta said as she watched Jade get up.

“Yes Nepeta! I promise you!” It was Jade’s turn to hold Nepeta’s hands firmly. Jade was known for keeping promises, and that was definitively one she didn’t intend to break.

“OK. I… I believe in you.”

The cat-girl’s face lit up a little, but not that much. Their walk back to Jade’s campsite was a rather silent one, completely different from those before.

When they arrived, they said their goodbyes, and neither of them could disguise just how sad they were about that. Jade specially. She was so heart-broken about leaving Nepeta behind. She never really had such a strong connection to anyone before, except for Bec and her grandpa, but those were completely different cases. Bec and Grandpa were family.

Nepeta was… she was something marvelous and special, and she was leaving that behind.

She watched as Nepeta and Pounce entered the woods, and kept watching until she couldn’t see nor hear them again, and proceeded to pack her things. She had to take the next airplane back home and sort her thoughts. Her honor as a huntswoman was still at stake, but that didn’t really seem to matter anymore.

What the approval of those other hunters even meant at that point? Why would she need their recognition anyway?

She felt Bec’s snout press against her leg, and that took her away from her thoughts. She looked down at him and he yapped at her, looking concerned.

“Oh, don’t worry boy. I’m fine, really. I’m just a little confused.” She tried to smile at him, and petted him in the head to assure him everything was OK. She knew Bec wouldn’t buy that though. Sometimes she thought her dog knew her better than she knew herself.

The packing continued, and all Jade could think of was the wondrous, free and untamed life she was leaving behind. She would stop packing eventually; sitting on the forest’s ground, with Nepeta’s words echoing inside her head.

_You are also special Jade!_

She couldn’t really believe Nepeta was comparing her to that extraordinary place she showed her. Next to it, she felt like nothing.

When everything was properly packed and the tent was dismantled, Jade took a last look at the forest and then started walking, leaving it and Nepeta behind.

Jade certainly wouldn’t forget about her promise though.

Even if it killed her, she would come back.

And maybe, she could even take on Nepeta’s invitation.

After all, everything did seem rather pointless now she saw how life could be so different, and yet so fulfilling.


End file.
